So, you’re interested in disability ministry. That’s wonderful!
Maybe you’re not looking to start a disability ministry, but you want to know exactly what it means.
Maybe you’ve been involved with individuals affected by disability before, and wonder how you can better serve them in a biblical way.
Maybe you’ve never had any interaction with individuals affected by disability, but God has laid curiosity on your heart and you’re looking for direction.
If any of these (or more!) is your situation, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s unpack exactly what it means to minister to those affected by disability.
Statistics of Those Affected
First, I believe it’s helpful to understand how common disability is and the ways in which it can affect a family. Understanding is the key to opening your heart up to service.
It is estimated that 1 in 4 adults are affected by some type of disability. If you live in the South, the percentage of people living with disabilities is the highest there.
13.7% of people with a disability have a mobility challenge.
10.8% of people with a disability have cognitive challenges.
5.9% of people with a disability are deaf or hard of hearing.
2 in 5 adults age 65 or older have a disability.
1 in 4 women has a disability.
Many adults affected by disability do not have access to a regular health care provider, usually due to financial reasons. There is also a large portion of these adults who have unmet medical needs because of their financial situation.
These statistics are sad and even hard to believe. How many people around us are dealing with a disability that we may not even know about? There are many disabilities that provide challenges which we do not even see or know about. Of course, these statistics above only pertained to adults. Now I want to give you some statistics on disabilities in the children/adolescent population:
1 in 44 children are diagnosed with Autism-this number is staggering! In 2000, Autism was diagnosed 1 in every 500 children.
Around 7% of children ages 5-15 are affected by disability, whether that be physical, mental, cognitive, or otherwise.
9.4% of all children will be diagnosed with ADHD.
1 in 345 children will be diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.
1 in 700 children will be diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
As you can see, disability is pretty common among children as well, and this is definitely not an exhaustive list of diagnoses. Given these statistics, especially the number of children and families who are affected by Autism, I can almost guarantee you know someone who is dealing with this diagnosis.
I hope that these statistics were helping you understand that disability is more common than you may realize and that it helps you to have empathy for those around you. Often understanding more about the prevalence of disability makes you realize it is a community of people that needs and deserves to be served. Just like any other need that you see needs filling, so does this.
What Does the Bible Say?
The Bible has a lot to say about disability, actually! I want to start with a story in the Old Testament of David and Mephibosheth.
The book of 2 Samuel discusses the life of David. David became king after God disapproved of Saul’s kingship and the way that he was leading Israel. This resulted in Saul trying to murder David because he was jealous of David being chosen to be king. David had a friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan.
When David became king, he asked if there was anyone left in Saul’s family to who he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake (Jonathan had died in a war). The servant told him that a son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, was still alive, but he was lame in both feet. This, however, did not matter to David. He sought out Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was sure that he was going to be put to death when he was called to King David because he was a part of Saul’s family.
However, David did quite the opposite. He showed him kindness. He promised to restore to him all of the land of Saul, as well as gave him the privilege of eating at his table. It is obvious how Mephibosheth feels about himself, likely because of other’s perception when he says, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (2 Samuel 9:8)
His status did not matter to David. He saw Mephibosheth worthy to receive kindness solely on the fact that he respected and loved his father. His disability did not affect the way that he treated him. David treated him in a way that should be inspiring to all of us. We should always be welcoming and willing to serve others regardless of their disability or status in society.
Another story we see in the Bible that speaks to disability is in the New Testament. It comes from John 9:1-3:
“As he went along he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither his man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”
Jesus says very clearly here that disabilities are not a direct result of sin. This is a common conception in many places around the world, and even here in the United States in some circles.
The fact of the matter is, God allows disability to happen, and He uses those circumstances to glorify Himself. It may be hard to see that, and often it is, but that is what we are told in this story and we know it from many other places in the Bible as well. This means that we should look to those with disabilities to see God’s glory on display, just as we expect to see it in any other believer. This is part of disability ministry–inclusion in the body of Christ to see the glory of God through the community of believers and how we serve. I want to direct you to one more verse that really hits this point home (this is Paul speaking about his vision and the literal thorn in his flesh):
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)
Disabilities and weaknesses are an opportunity for God’s glory to be shown, not an opportunity to exclude a group of people from participation in the Body of Christ. This is the heart of disability ministry–that all might be included and given the opportunity to show who He is in a deeper way.
What Can Disability Ministry Look Like, Practically?
So now you have an idea of what the Bible says about ministering to those with disabilities. Now let’s take a look at what it means to actually put disability ministry into practice.
First and foremost, I want you to understand that disability ministry is absolutely not confined to an “official church ministry” or a gathering of people once a month for a respite ministry. Of course, that is one way to do it. The heart of disability ministry is looking at those around you, seeing them as people who are loved by God, and serving them in their areas of need. Let me lay out a couple of scenarios for you:
Scenario 1:
You are at the grocery store. You see a mom with a child who seems to be struggling to behave a bit more than what would be considered usual. It may even seem obvious that this child has needs beyond those of a typically developing child. You feel the Lord prompt you to talk to the mother. Now, you know that having a long conversation in this instance is not practical. Take a moment, notice something positive about the child, and tell the mother something like this, “Ma’am, I just wanted you to know that I have noticed that your child has such wonderful observational skills and that is a gift. I also wanted you to know that you are doing a great job.” Congratulations, you’ve just done disability ministry! You saw a mother struggling in the store, saw her child as a gift, told her that, and encouraged her. This is all at the heart of disability ministry. Of course, the conversation may go on from there depending on where the child is at, or it may end, but know that you have just encouraged that mother in a way that most people choose not to.
Scenario 2:
There is a middle-aged man at your church who uses a wheelchair. And only seems to come sporadically. You’ve exchanged “hello’s” with him on various occasions over the last year or two that you’ve seen each other at church, but it never has gone further than that. One of the times that he comes to church, you decide to strike up a conversation with him. You learn that he lives alone, has caregivers who come and help him with daily living, but really struggles to find help on Sundays, and especially someone who is willing to take him to church. You also find out he only lives two miles from the church. This is a perfect opportunity for you to step in and help a fellow brother in Christ. If you are unable to pick him up/do not have a vehicle that can accommodate his wheelchair, then you go to church leadership and start talking to people in the church who would be able to pick him up each Sunday so that he can attend church. Not only is this an opportunity for someone in the church to serve, but it is an opportunity for this man to be able to receive the Word and community from a church family each week.
You see, there are so many ways we can be ministering to people who are affected by disabilities that are outside the four walls of the church and not within the confines of a specific program. All we need to do is open our eyes and hearts to the people around us and needs will be evident.
Of course, there are ways to do disability ministry within programs as well. Some of these include inclusion programs within Sunday school or Wednesday night programming, a monthly/quarterly/bi-annual/annual respite ministry, a separate classroom available on Sunday mornings for those with more challenging behaviors, a sensory room, or a Bible study to bring awareness to the congregation. I hope that you’ll check out my other blog posts about these exact topics that go in-depth on how you can implement these types of ministries into your church.
As you can see, the heart of disability is laid out in the Bible. Those with disabilities are not less than, and their value to the body of Christ is irreplaceable. I want to leave you with this Scripture passage as you continue to ponder disability ministry:
“There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part, it has many parts. Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.” -1 Corinthians 12:12-20